Guardians of Remnant
by Rasa the North Wind
Summary: We've seen the adventures of Team RWBY and their friends as they battle the creatures of Grimm, the White Fang, and Cinder's Faction but what of the huntsmen- and huntresses-in-training elsewhere? Join team BGDY as they deal with their own set of problems! Discontinued until further notice.
1. Prologue (Updated)

**Guardians of Realm**

 **Summary: We've seen the adventures of Team RWBY and their friends as they battle the creatures of Grimm, the White Fang, and Cinder's Faction but what of the huntsmen- and huntresses-in-training elsewhere? Join team BRGD as they deal with their own set of problems! SYOC! (Submit your own character) Currently accepting OCs!**

 **A/N: Hey everyone! Yes, yes, I know I haven't been the most reliable when it comes to finishing SYOCs but honestly, who has been? There are only a handful of SYOCs stories that have finished completely so yeah. I feel like at this point, SYOCs are more of like writing and creative exercises for both the writer and the reader. I'll try to finish this story but no promises! If that scares you off, I'm sorry. If you like the uncertainty factor or just like making OCs, then I'm the author for you!**

 **In case you didn't read the summary and you only decided to check this story out because it said "SYOC" or "accepting OCs," this story will not be following team RWBY and they won't appear until the protagonists get to Beacon for the Vytal Festival. Also, this isn't in the summary but I will be coming up with fake Grimm because we've already seen enough of the cannon Grimm, however I will be using them as well. This way, different Grimm can be found in different parts of the world kind of like Pokemon!. Anyways if either of these concepts bother you, this isn't the story for you. If you're totally fine with an OC-centered story and fake Grimm, then come right on in!**

 **(UPDATE: Okay so Rooster Teeth and I seem to be thinking on the same wavelength because the day before they showed Winter Schnee's water bird summoning thing in her fight against Qrow, I updated this story and Driz's semblance WAS him using water dust to create clones of Grimm which wasn't so bad until Winter summoned a Beowolf with her Glyph. On top of that, a couple weeks after, they revealed Flynt Coal who uses a trumpet as a weapon. Yin was originally named Rhy and he originally used a…trumpet and even had a different personality. But to not conflict with Rooster Teeth because they thought of these ideas first, it was mere coincidence that I had them as well, I've changed Rhy to Yin as well as Driz's semblance. Also, the main team's name was spelled BRGD but since I have to make all these changes, I decided to change the spelling of the name to BGDY while I was at it.)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of its characters. I am but a humble fan with ideas.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

 **B Trailer: Bothain Stone**

The rolling waves crashed onto the grainy shore, spraying my face with a salty mist. The taste was unforgiving but welcoming at the same time. The beach wouldn't be the beach without it and I love everything about the beach from the serene sound of its waves to the occasional cawing of the seagulls passing overhead. You know, when they don't defecate on your shoes.

People prefer to watch the ocean during sunset, but I prefer doing it at night. Looking out into the endless abyss reminds me of life. You can only see so much ahead of you and past that, it's a complete mystery. There's something there, though. There's always something there even if you can't see it. That's the beauty of life. There will always be something waiting for you beyond your field of vision. You could say that it reminds me of why I do what I do – why I chose the job I have.

I sat on a rock in the field of large stones, resting firmly on the loose sand. The surface pressing against my bottom was incredibly cold but I didn't mind it any more than the chilly breeze colliding against my face. I was used to this all though, which is why I brought a sweater to combat the low temperatures.

A crunching sound caused me to turn my head. My family knew that I liked to come out here but never followed – they knew I could take care of myself. It was difficult to see the figure but it definitely wasn't human. The four demonic crimson eyes guaranteed that. As it approached me, I could make out more of its body, starting with the ghostly white mask that covered its face. It was long with red markings spreading throughout it. The dark shape blended in well with the darkness surrounding us but the way it moved, I could see that it had stout legs and long arms. Once I identified that it resembled an ant-eater, I knew that this was a Soul Eater, a creature of Grimm.

Suddenly, the dark beast opened its mouth and a long gray tongue flew out at me. I quickly jumped backwards to avoid it and watched it wrap around the rock I sat on a moment before. The tongue crushed it with great ease, creating a pile of rubble.

Wearing my poker face, I reached for the nun-chucks, which I properly named Desert Hunter, holstered at my side. I twirled the weapon before running towards the creature. In response, the Soul Eater shot its tongue again but I shifted to my right to dodge it. Nearing it, I swung my nun-chucks upwards to hit the creature's jaw from underneath, causing it to bite its own tongue.

While the Soul Eater roared in pain, I took advantage of its vulnerability and hit it with my weapon again, forcing its head downwards. Using the momentum of my previous attack, I placed my hand on the ground and spun my body to kick its face with the heel of my boot. Finally, I jumped and landed right on the neck and with a loud crack, I knew it was dead. As I stepped over the limp body, it began to evaporate as all Grimm do.

Facing forward, I let out a groan upon seeing the multitude of Grimm before me. How unfortunate…that they decided to attack me on the beach.

I reached behind my back and plucked the cork from the metal container strapped to my lower back. I began spinning Desert Hunter again and orange Dust began to leak from the container to surround the metal rod. The horde of Soul Eaters attacked me but with a swing of my nun-chucks, I created a wall of sand to halt their assault.

I closed my hand to solidify the loose wall and trap my attackers in place. I grabbed Desert Hunter with both hands and took a good look at it. The black and orange weapon was connected by a durable string instead of a chain like most nun-chucks and each handle consisted of two rods instead of one – a circular piece connected the rods. On each handle, one rod was longer than the other so I grabbed the ends of the weapon and with a press of a button, the rods folded outward and settled at an obtuse angle. Finally, I brought together the free ends of the weapon to form a bow with the string waiting to be pulled.

With the bow stretched out before me, I lifted my free hand and more orange dust gathered in it to solidify into a sand arrow. With my projectile in hand, I pulled back on the string and jumped high over the wall of sand to unleash a rapid succession of sand arrows which pierced each of the Soul Eaters in vital parts of their bodies. Like their friend, they too evaporated and the wall of sand fell to blend in with the rest of the beach.

Now that I was done, I let out a sigh and found a new rock to sit on and continued watching the waves.

* * *

 **From the creators of the "Star Academy"…**

* * *

 **G Trailer: Tai Garfield**

My boots sank into the pale sheet, burying the bottom of my light gray pants with them, every time I took a step through the snow storm. White crystals whirled around me – some grazing my skin, some clinging to my clothing. The little clothing I _did_ have consisted of my pants, boots, a black vest with orange trim and a long, ragged piece of beige cloth wrapped around my neck like a scarf.

Even with the black sky above head, I could see as clear day. The mask on my face was a bigger hindrance on my vision than the lack of sunlight but I wasn't vulnerable by any means - the striped triangular ears resting above my head made sure of that. In that precise moment, said ears began twitching. I could head twigs snapping about fifteen yards away from the North.

I turned my head to the right to find a group of Ursa emerging from a cluster of trees. Curling my hands into compact fists, I hear the sound of my black leather gauntlets rubbing against themselves. Flinging my arms downwards, the three blades on each gauntlet extended to become a set of claws.

Without wasting any time, I rush towards the incoming Grimm and they reciprocate the action. One of the Ursa was ahead of the others so I assumed it was more suicidal than its friends. As we neared each other, it raised its enormous paw while I raised my hand. Time seemed to slow down in the small second that we were in front of each other with an arm raised and claws ready to dig into each other's flesh. I could see the miniscule flakes slowly descending in the space between us and I could feel the snow beneath me rising up my leg the more it dog into the white blanket.

The ravenous creature and I looked eyes. Bloody, gluttonous eyes met with my serene icy eyes. I was staring down a dangerous monster than could easily tear me limb from limb without mercy and all the only word I can use to describe my emotion at the time is calm because after all, the Ursa was looking at the same thing.

Like a bullet, my arm slammed into the Ursa's face, eliciting a cracking noise, and the beast was launched several hundred feet away. I didn't have to look to know that its body was evaporating into nothingness. Without losing pace, I run up to the next one and duck underneath its arm as it tries to rip my head off similar to what I did to its friend. I push off the ground with my strong legs and impaled the Ursa's head with the right gauntlet of Civil Savage. Using the momentum, I cleanly rip the head off and jump over the body.

When I land, the skull fades from its steel executioners but I pay no mind. Instead, I continue onto its friends and within minutes, I find myself standing over the body of the last Ursa as it slowly ceases to exist. Once again, I am the only creature in the area.

As I reached the cowl of my scarf to place it over my head, I notice that the beige cloth is missing. It takes me a few moments to find it lying somewhere far off. It appears that I dropped it when I rushed the Ursa. Without dwelling on it, I walk over, pick it up, and wrap it around myself. Finally, I cover my head and continue onward.

* * *

 **And based on Rooster Teeth's "RWBY"…**

* * *

 **D Trailer:** Driz Levenstein

My black boots clicked against the wooden floor as I casually strode up to the helm of the ship. She sure was a beauty, this boat, and it was so great to see the crew taking such good care of her. I smiled confidently with my head up, shoulders back, and arms crossed over my chest. The waves rocked the ship gently on the dock we were anchored at and the cawing of the seagulls flying overhead in the sky resonated in my ear allowed me to immerse myself in the environment.

"Hey you!"

I looked down to see one of the crewmen looking directly at me and he'd called the attention of his shipmates.

"What do you think you're doing, kid?! You're not supposed to be on this ship!"

I scoffed, "Of course I am! Don't you see this?" I referred to the coat I donned which was primarily light gray with accents of crimson and indigo on the sleeves, edges, and small designs throughout it.

"Oi! He thinks this is dress-up!" The ship's deck was filled with roaring laughter but I would have none of that!

"I will not tolerate such disrespect!" I pushed my coat's fold aside to reveal the cutlass at my hip. However, this is no ordinary cutlass! The ring at the bottom of the hilt, the crevasses running through it, and the screws bolted into it suggest that it can transform and transform it can! Riptide is what I named this marvelous weapon.

Another sailor yelled, "E's even got uh toy sword!" And their laughter was reignited.

Angered, I drew the sword to reveal a very sharp edge, which I pointed at the ridiculing seamen. They didn't seem to take to kindly to my declaration of action so some of them reached for their pistols while others grabbed broomsticks or any other bludgeoning objects. In response to the barrels being aimed at me, I unscrewed the vile of blue dust hanging from my neck and let the sapphire powder pour onto my hand. Using the elemental properties of the dust, it became water and by activating my semblance, the liquid shaped itself into a shield.

The shield was still made completely of water but the bullets that were shot at me bounced off as though it was metal. This confused the sailors to no end and urged me to grin victoriously. You see, my semblance allows me to solidify water! Awesome, right?!

I wasn't done with these scallywags just yet so I pressed a button on the guard of my saber and the pieces began to slide, fold, and contort into an anchor-like shape. The hand guard slid between the hilt and the blade. The sharp edge of the blade slid upwards and flattened out to become perpendicular to the length. Finally, an opening appeared at the very tip of the weapon, for firing purposes, but I wouldn't injure my crew...just yet.

Deciding to have some fun, I used my semblance on the dust to create a chain which I attached to Riptide's ring and let the anchor loose, holding only the hydro chain. Once again, the sailors were bewildered by the phenomenon.

I began swinging the anchor and launched it towards one of the masts. With the chain grasped firmly in my hand, I yell, "I am the greatest captain!" After pacing backward to give myself some room, I ran forward at top speed. Upon reaching the edge of the quarterdeck, I push myself and swing through the air, yelling, "Woohoo!"

The rush was incredible! The wind pounded against my face and made my coat float behind me. I bet I looked awesome! What wasn't awesome was when my face met the mast and my ride was over. Next thing I knew, I was looking up at the sails with the sky in the background, completely dazed.

I could hear even more laughter erupt around me so I quickly stood up to find all of the sailors around me.

"Alright, kid, we've all had enough fun for a day. How about you leave and let us get back to our work?"

I grinned, "You're lucky this ship is so awesome or I wouldn't want it with a crew full of numbskulls. Do you not speak English or something? Because this is my ship now."

"Why you!"

Infuriated, the crewmen came at me, but I was too quick for them. I grabbed the chain against and kicked off of one of the men to give myself a boost as I climbed up my water-based creation. Gunshots started to fire again but luckily for me, my aura protected me from taking too much damage. Still, the bullets that hit me would definitely leave some bruises. One I made it to Riptide, I plucked it from the mast and continued climbing until I was at the very top.

Now _this_ was a view. The rolling waves sparkled from the sunlight and continued on for miles and miles. I want to see what's out there and I know that one day, I'm going to travel the whole world to see it all.

Breaking me away from my thoughts, a bullet nudged my foot, causing me to lose my balance. I wound up on the floor looking up at all of the crewmen around me, mentally thanking my aura for preventing me from dying. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to protect me from what happens next. One of the sailors grabbed me by the collar and yanked me to my feet.

He raised a fist and all I could do was beg, "Not the face! Not the face!"

* * *

 **Legacy918 Presents…**

* * *

 **Y Trailer:** Yin Kagerama

I stand silently high above the dimly lit streets on the lonely rooftop of an abandoned building. This place used to be a department store with clothes and furniture that my family would often shop at. We'd also go to the movie theatre down the street on Friday nights and have picnics at the park a few blocks away on Sunday mornings. But that was all before everything went wrong.

No one expected it because we were in a time of peace. There was no warning for what would happen and why would there be? This is just a small town on the outskirts of Mistral. No one really cared about us. They didn't care to keep an eye on us or to warn us. They definitely didn't care enough to help us in our time of need. After all my dad and his co-workers did for their economy you'd think that that would've accounted for something. It didn't.

My father was buried inside the mines he worked inside for fifteen years, my mother and brother, lost to the Grimm, and my city…destroyed in the chaos.

I look out at the damaged buildings, the empty streets, and the dying trees. Windows had been broken and the glass lay on the floor, untouched for years. Debris and misplaced cars littered the streets. Some people did not even manage to get out of their cars so their decaying bodies stayed frozen in time much like this city.

As I look at the crumbling moon above, a small drop of rain fall onto my face. Soon, more started to come down onto my old home so I pulled the neck of my long-sleeved shirt over my nose like a mask.

I noticed the cluster of Grimm festering underneath me in the streets but they weren't alone. There was a man with a cape and a large sword behind him…and he was in the eye of the tornado. Was he insane? There were at least a hundred Grimm down there and he was going to fight them all on his own?

I couldn't just leave him there to die so I took hold of the sword that I kept sheathed behind me, and jumped off the building into the fray. With a firm grip on the sheath, which I designed to be shaped like a gun's handle, I pulled the strange katana out. Why is it strange? Maybe because it had a black barrel ending halfway up the length of the blade. It has its purpose, trust me.

During my descent, I noticed that the man does not even need my help. He easily cuts away at their ranks in a whirlwind of sword swings. This did not stop some of the Grimm from noticing me and choosing a new target. They were probably better off that way considering what this man was doing to their kin. The few Beowolves that rush up the building begin to near me but I cut through them with ease, using the small battles to slow my fall. When I reach the first floor, I kick myself away from the old shopping center and landed right beside the stranger, driving Tsukiyomi through the ivory skull of a Beowolf.

Grimm surround us from all sides but I remain calm, waiting for them to make their first strike. Another Beowolf attacks, but I duck and slash upwards, ultimately ending it. The beast evaporated into a dark mist and faded into the night, lost forever in oblivion.

I turned my head slightly to find the man looking back at me with his lips curved into a half-smile and his crimson eyes sparkling with vigor. He doesn't look too young with the small stubble growing from his chin but he couldn't be too old either with the way he fought. His movements did seem a tad…off beat. Perhaps he's fatigued.

Regardless, he acknowledged me as an ally and the two of us began our onslaught on the Grimm with nothing but out swords, our wits, and our will to survive. I am an adept fighter in my own right but this man was clearly more experienced from the way he effortlessly wielded his large weapon and cut away at the dark creatures. He saved my neck more than once that day and when it was all over, he pulled his sword out of the last Grimm's shattered skull and turned to me.

I watched him with carefully, still wearing my mask, and he stared at me back with tattered magenta eyes. We were locked in a stand still as rain continued to fall around us, soaking away the sweat and blood from our battle. Finally, he cracked a smile and pushed his graying locks backwards before approaching me with a hand forward.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked.

"Yin…"

"Huh, that's funny. I have a niece named Yang. You're not her long lost fraternal twin brother, are you?" he joked. I didn't laugh so he moved on from the subject. "Thanks for watching my back out there."

My eyes widen from surprise. He was thanking me after he'd saved me multiple times?! Who was this guy?

As to not disrespect and possibly anger him, I briefly shake his hand and meekly respond, "I-I um…it was nothing."

"Nothing? You've got some real skill. Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

My eyes shot away from him, desperately trying to find something else to look at – anything would suffice.

"My master taught me."

"You didn't go to a school?"

"No."

"That's impressive. So I bet you built that weapon with your master too, right?"

"Yes."

"You're not much for conversation are you?"

"W-well you're a stranger."

He chuckled to himself, "You know when your parents told you not to talk to strangers they didn't mean you had to act all stiff."

"I'm bad with new people."

"Huh? Really? Why's that?"

"Haven't been around too many."

"Where have you been around?"

I look around at the scarred streets and crumbling buildings before turning back to him and saying, "Here."

He took a moment to scan the area himself and asked, "You live here?" I simply nod. "But it's infested with Grimm."

"It's my home."

"Oh. Well what about your master?"

My gaze dropped as I revealed, "He disappeared one day so I came to the only place I knew."

A hand on my shoulder caused my head to shoot up to the man standing over me. He had a sympathetic look on his face when he told me, "Well home is wherever you feel you belong and if it's this place, I think it's worth protecting. But…protecting a city, especially one littered with Grimm is a big task for someone on their own. Why not go out into the world to get stronger and meet some friends? This isn't something you have to do by yourself."

"There is no one left from this city. I cannot put this burden on outsiders."

"You can't put burdens on friends. They'll help you regardless of the task or the cost. Just give it some thought."

As he began walking away, I stopped him, "Hey, wait! What are you doing out here?"

He was silent for a moment but he answered, "I'm out here on a mission."

"So you're a huntsman?"

"That's right. You could be one too – a well-trained huntsman. Tell you what Yin, Haven isn't too far from here. Go to them and tell 'em Qrow sent you."

That was the last I ever saw of Qrow but that brief encounter was enough to change my destiny of forever guarding this rotting city on my own.

* * *

 **Guardians of Remnant**

* * *

 **Credits to DJTiki for the prologue formatting.**

 **And there you have it! The prologue for this story! You have now been introduced to the main characters of this story and you will learn more about them as you read. If you are interested, you may submit a character of your own! The rules and form are on my profile so be sure to check it out! Leave your comments, questions, and concerns in the reviews and with that, I look forward to seeing the OCs you guys come up with. Legacy, out!**


	2. Welcoming

**A/N: Hey everyone! If you haven't noticed, I updated the Prologue for reasons that I explain in that chapter so if you haven't read it, go and read it before reading this chapter so that you're all caught up and aren't confused when the character you know as Rhy is no longer present.**

 **Chapter 1: Welcoming**

 **~Bothain~**

My black boots clicked against the freshly polished tiled floor of Haven Academy as I browsed the many portraits and busts that lined the walls of the hallway. There were many historic faces captured in pastel, paint, and marble dating as far as two millennia ago. Great warriors stood proudly over their fallen foes – the Grimm – with their mighty weapons in hand.

As I stride slowly, I notice that more new students are passing by to get to the auditorium as we were told to meet there in five minutes. There are a few colorful characters among the crowd including some guys with…colorful hair, a cowboy, and a goliath with a white mask which appears similar to a tiger's face. He's easy to pick out because of how much he towers over everyone else but he seems rather brutish and shady with his torso covered only by a black vest and his head concealed by his mask and hood.

I make a note to keep an eye on him and continue along the hallway, trailing slightly behind the majority of my new classmates. While walking, my ears perked at the sound of footsteps rapidly pushing against the floor.

As I turned, I heard a mid-pubescent voice chant, "Crap! Crap! Crap! I'm gonna' be late!"

It was a tall boy running right towards me and he didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.

"Get out of the way!" he yelled and as if he were incapable of changing directions, he ran right into me, making us both fall.

I picked myself up and snarled at him, "What the hell?! Why'd you slam into me?!"

I looked at him, noticing his outfit first. It resembled a seaman's wardrobe – more specifically, a captains (minus the hat). He wore a long gray coat with crimson and indigo accents here and there, a pitch black collar shirt, and a pair of slightly baggy white pants. A cutlass was sheathed at his hip so I took him for a huntsman-in-training like myself.

"I told you to move out of the way," he complained while rubbing his sapphire eye.

Unbelievable. He's acting like he's the victim!

I simply glare at him with my burning orange spheres, prompting him to say, "What?" I stand upright, holding my gaze so he obliviously repeated, "What?!"

"Are you sick in the head or something?" I snap, causing him to flinch slightly and droop his eyes. He clearly felt bad but he had it coming.

"Hey, I was just trying to get to the auditorium on time."

"Well because of your stupidity we're both going to be late."

His spiky head snapped up and without warning, he ran past me yelling, "Crap! We're late!"

As I watch him run off, I shake my head and growl from frustration. His density and poor manners are absolutely infuriating! How can he bump into someone like that and just run off? Imbecile.

Distracted by my thoughts, I completely ignore the small figure standing next to me until she asks, "Are you okay?"

When I turned my head, I found a very petite young girl with sun-kissed skin and silky hair the color of merlot tied into a long braid that hung off towards the side of her head and fell over her shoulder.

Her outfit looked rather expensive, especially the heart-shaped emerald on her choker, and there didn't seem to be a single spec of dirt on her person – indicating that she kept herself rather neat. She wore a strapless white shirt with gray accents over navy blue cloth that crossed over her chest and wrapped around the back of her neck, leaving her shoulders bare. Her shorts matched her shirt and her accessories complimented her outfit with white and gray bicep bracers, belt, and leg warmers as well as navy blue arm warmers and stockings. I assumed that the two rectangular devices strapped at her waist were her weapons and that she was a classmate of mine.

I eyed her with caution before slowly responding, "Yeah…"

She had an innocent look in her bright minty eyes and a pleasant smile on her face as she said, "That's good. I saw what happened so I thought I'd come make sure you and the other boy were okay." Her expression became quizzical, "But it looks like he ran off before I could come."

"Yeah, that jerk just took off without apologizing for bumping into me."

She flipped her wrist and laughed, "I'm sure it was just an accident."

"I'm sure he was just an accident," I mutter underneath my breath, leaving her confused. "It's nothing," I say. "Well I've got to get going."

"Oh, wait!"

I stop and turn to hear her out.

"Do you want to walk together?" she asked. "Considering that we're going in the same direction."

I shrug. "If you want."

Her smile widened as she rushed to my side and slowed down to walk at my pace.

It was quiet for a bit until she spoke up again, "My name is Nayla. What's yours?"

"Bothain."

"That's a cool name!"

"I guess."

When we approached the auditorium, I opened the door and held it for her. We walked in in time to hear the headmaster say, "Your initiation exam will begin tomorrow at eight so make sure to get some rest tonight. You have not yet been assigned rooms so you will be staying the night here in the auditorium. I suggest you find yourselves a comfortable spot."

The headmaster walked off stage and the crowd of students dispersed to either talk amongst themselves or separate from the group in their own little corner. I noticed that the masked man from before chose the latter and found himself an open spot to sit down and press his back against the wall. He crossed his arms and just sat there, doing nothing. What an enigma.

To be fair, I was considering doing the same thing until Nayla started talking to me about her previous academy so I spent the rest of the day just talking to her and a few other students that would hop into our conversation. It was a bit strange that a lot of them were guys and most kept the conversation centered on Nayla but regardless, I met a couple interesting people. Soon, night came and it was time for everyone to go to bed for tomorrow would be my day to shine.

 **~Yin~**

I sat inside the helicopter with my hands resting on my lap and the rotating blades pounding away at my eardrums. There were three other people with me aside from the pilot inside the cockpit of the vehicle. Two of them were female – one, very petite with crimson hair and emerald eyes and the other appeared rather tomboyish with her short green hair which she kept cloaked by her dark indigo hoodie.

The other male was busy trying to chat up the red-haired girl who didn't seem to mind his company by the cheerful smile on her face. This boy was incredibly tall with gelled neon blue hair and slightly tan skin. His outfit was rather preppy with his white collar shirt and a crimson blazer.

It seems that he was trying to court the girl considering that he paid little to no attention to myself or the tomboy next to him. We will soon be approaching our destination so if I were him, I would keep my ears sharp for orders.

As I thought that, a professor's voice spoke into our ears through the headphones we were instructed to wear. I knew this was a professor because he introduced himself as Professor Cramer when we were boarding the helicopters.

"We are now above the Sapphire Swamp where your initiation test will take place."

As soon as the professor began speaking, the blue-haired boy stopped flirting and paid attention. I guess he knows his priorities.

"Before I tell you your assignment, I will explain the purpose of this initiation. Every year, we conduct this as an evaluation of your individual skills and to assign the teams that you will be in during your time here. As huntsman- and huntresses-in-training it is important for us to teach you how to defend yourselves and others but to limit the danger of fighting Grimm, you are put into teams so that you may support each other and grow stronger together."

A team…considering the people I've seen so far, I have mixed feelings about this.

"Now, your task is to descend to the marshlands below and reach the temple at the center where you will find relics that will determine the team that you will be placed in. There will be foes that stand in your way of completing this initiation so you must overcome them to earn your place at Haven."

Ominous…

"The last bit of information you must know about this task is that in addition to being put into teams, you will be given a partner that will also be a member of your team. After landing, the first person that you meet eyes with will be your partner and that person is responsible for keeping you accountable at Haven in your academics, training, and missions. Now that you know all of this, your initiation begins now."

At those words, the side doors opened to reveal the other helicopters and all of them, including ours, seemed to be moving in a very large circle above the swamp. By my count, there were about nine other helicopters and I feel it safe to assume that four students were in each one. Or at least four were in each one before the doors opened because some started jumping out of the flying machines.

The blue-haired boy knocked on the window that separated us from the pilot and once he got the man's attention asked, "So uh, where are our parachutes?"

The pilot merely grinned at him and shrugged.

"W-what?! We don't have parachutes?!"

He merely waved at the boy and slid a cover to hide himself inside his cockpit.

The emerald-haired teen chuckled to herself before taunting, "Scared of a little height?"

"This is a little?!" he whined.

She expanded her weapon into a hover board and dove out of the plane, but not before turning around to stick her tongue out at the boy. We watched as she placed her feet on her weapon and began doing all sorts of flips during her descent.

"We should get going too," said the redhead as she tossed her braid behind her back and took hold of the weapons at her hips. She followed suit and jumped from the helicopter, expanding her own weapons into a pair of large fans, which she used to slow her fall.

Deciding not to waste any more time, I went next with no real concern for a landing strategy. All I really needed to do was activate my semblance. I put my hands at my side and straightened myself out to increase my velocity and despite knowing what to do, I still felt a little tense. I mean jumping out of a helicopter high above the ground is not something you do every day, especially without parachutes.

During my descent, I noticed myself passing the falling forms of the two girls that jumped out before me, which made me a little more anxious but I had to remain as calm as possible to not splatter on the swamp floor. I could not help myself but to look back to check if the other boy jumped and to my surprise and slight amusement, there he was flailing and screaming his way down to the ground. I turned to look at the fast approaching canopy of trees to prepare for my landing. I took a large inhale, then exhaled slowly before quickly unsheathing Tsukuyomi and aimed it forward to release a shining white and violet wisp of my aura. The wisp stopped above the trees and expanded into a swirling vortex. I aimed another wisp a few meters off and created a second portal that opened at a slanted upward angle.

A few seconds later, I dove through one vortex and slipped right through the other one, however I had enough momentum to travel quite a distance from where both were and landed in a clearing a considerable number of meters away. I grabbed onto a nearby tree branch and swung myself from branch to branch to reduce my velocity until I could safely drop down to the ground below. Unfortunately, the wetlands would leave my shoes covered in mud but that was the least of my concerns. I had to find my partner and the temple as well as stay on guard from enemies.

 **~Driz~**

It's time for me to shine! As I close in on the swamp after jumping out of the helicopter, I transform Riptide into its anchor form and create a water-chain out of the dust I keep on hand. I swing the anchor onto a tree branch and use the momentum to launch myself to another tree branch, which I firmly planted my boots on.

"That wasn't too hard," I chuckled to myself while pulling Riptide towards me with the chain. As soon as I had my weapon in hand, I use it once again to lower myself onto the ground. After reacquiring Riptide, I released my hold of the chain and allowed the water to splash onto the ground.

I take a look around and find trees, trees, and uh, more trees. This is a pleasant start! Can't wait to find my partner! Maybe it'll be that really big guy with the mask and hood that I saw last night. He doesn't seem all that talkative but those claws on his gauntlets look so cool! Plus he's probably crazy strong so it'd be awesome to be partnered up with him! Or maybe the cowboy from my helicopter would be cool too. He seemed like a good ol' sharp shooter. Mmmm, can't really think of anyone else I'd want as a partner.

I wasn't going to get anywhere just standing around so I decide to start walking around. Hopefully I'd find someone on the way to the temple…wherever it was.

 **~Bothain~**

I was probably one of the students with a more difficult time landing considering that my weapon and semblance didn't really slow my descent. I had to resort to using the earth dust I carried in the metal container strapped to my lower back as a cushion by turning it to sand multiple times as I fell. It still hurt like hell but I'd live because of my aura protecting and healing me.

My primary concern was finding the temple because I'd most likely run into someone along the way and even if I didn't, we were all bound to meet at the temple anyway. I just hope that I don't get paired with that numbskull from yesterday. I'd be forever grateful for that. Not quite sure how much of his recklessness and mild manners I'd be able to handle.

Seeing as how I'd be out in the wilderness, I released the zippers on the sleeves of the white long-sleeve shirt I wore underneath my dark green sleeveless V-neck to give myself an easier time rolling them up to my elbows. There wasn't much I could do to save my black boots and brown pants from the muck but that wasn't something to worry over too much.

The helicopters that brought us all here were circling the perimeter before so I could just climb a tree and find the center of the swamp by using them as a reference point. Well that was the plan until I reached the top of the green canopy and found the helicopters leaving. I guess they aren't going to make it that easy for us. They weren't that far along so I could still tell which general direction I should be going in so without delay, I dropped to the ground and began my trek, remaining as vigilant as possible for Grimm.

The first twenty minutes of walking were very quiet but I'd already acquired a few souvenirs from this marshland, courtesy of its resident mosquitos. Just as I grabbed a low branch to climb the tree it belonged to, I heard a shrill cry nearby. I couldn't help but groan at the fact that someone would come to an academy that trains huntsmen and huntresses without being prepared to fight Grimm. Despite this, I took off in the direction that I heard the cry, unable to just leave someone helpless even if it meant that whoever this was would inevitably become my partner if she was still alive by the time I got there and if I got there before someone else did.

As I jump over roots, duck under branches, and push veils of vines aside, I try to listen for any other cries but instead hear the sounds of fighting. There was a mixture of grunts and roars but soon I heard a crash followed by the sound of trees falling down.

I hurried until I found the brute from yesterday getting up from the mud and bark, telling me that he encountered an enemy. He heard my footsteps and snapped his head towards me, taking a moment to observe me. I couldn't read his expression because of the mask but I could see icy blue spheres through the eye slits. Apparently he did not see me as a threat because he turned his attention back to whatever he was fighting. I followed his gaze to a group of Malligators – very large bipedal Grimm with masks and tails resembling that of alligators, hence the name.

But where's the girl? Don't tell me that that cry came from this goliath. Before I could verify anything, the masked man rushed our adversaries with his clawed gauntlets ready. One of the Malligators ran towards him, but the masked man cleanly drove his claws from underneath its skull, instantly killing it. He wasted no time in proceeding to the rest of the Grimm.

I took a small moment to scan the area for anyone else and found Nayla laying underneath the roots of a tree so I ran to make sure she was okay. Aside from the mud she was covered in and a small bump on her head, she seemed to be okay.

I couldn't risk leaving her here to fight and having the masked man or one of the Grimm crush her so I slung her tiny body over my shoulder to climb a tree and gain vantage point. After sitting her on a branch against the trunk, I grabbed Desert Hunter, transformed it into a longbow, and uncorked my dust container for my sand arrows. Because of my _landing strategy_ I was low on ammunition so I'd have to make every shot count.

I formed an arrow in my hand and pulled on the cord, maintaining straight posture for the most effective shot. Closing my left eye, I aimed at one of the Malligators in the back to keep from accidentally hurting the masked man. Once I marked the Grimm, I released my hold of the projectile and watched as it flew across the air, right into the monster's collar. It would take more than that to take one down so the next sand arrow I shot went through its neck, ending its existence.

I noticed another Malligator creeping up on the masked man so I shot an arrow into one of its eyes, stopping its assault. My ally turned to see the beast in agony, then up at me to verify for himself that I was there to help. He gave me a simple nod before driving his claws through the crippled Grimm's skull. With their numbers dwindling, a couple of Malligators managed to crawl back to whatever swamp they came from but between myself and the masked man, we managed to kill about six of them.

The large man retracted his claws and approached me. He stood there in silence as I plugged up my dust container and placed Desert Hunter on my belt.

I pick up Nayla and tell the man, "Can you catch her?"

He nods and holds his massive hands out so that I can lower her into them. I tried to do it as gently as possible but the sudden shake caused her to stir.

Her minty eyes opened to find herself in the arms of a tiger-faced man with little to cover his well-built upper body.

"H-huh? Who are you?" she asked, innocently.

Seeing as how he had not spoken a word since I got there, I answered her, "Nayla, what happened to you?"

"Bothain? What are you doing here?"

"I found you unconscious in the mud."

She glanced over her clothing and said, "Oh, look at that. What would you know?" She looked up at the man and with the gentlest smile said, "I'm okay now, you can put me down. Thank you for carrying me!"

Again, his response was a nod.

"He didn't just carry you. By the time I showed up, he was protecting you from those Grimm."

Nayla pouted, "I missed out on fighting Grimm? Well that's a shame." She turned to the masked man and bowed slightly, "Anyways, thank you so much. I am in great debt to you."

He shook his head and with a rough, coarse voice, replied, "That will not be necessary."

So he _can_ speak.

I placed a hand on Nayla and assured her, "I think you'll be in good hands with him as a partner."

"Partner? Oh yes! It's the first person that we come across, right?"

He shook his head and responded, "We did not lock eyes when I arrived. I merely saw a body lying helplessly by a tree." He slowly turned to me and said, "My eyes first met with yours."

Was he trying to get me to be his partner because he didn't think Nayla could fight? I chuckled slightly at this and said, "I don't think Cramer meant that we have to literally lock eyes with someone for them to be our partner."

He shook his head and said, "I was unaware of the girls whereabouts throughout the fight. I merely knew that she was here."

Nayla laughed and said, "Well it's okay! I can find another partner. Besides, the two of you are super strong so I know you'll make a great team!"

Her optimism forced a smile out of me and all I could do was just agree with her.

"Yeah, we could work together, right?"

The man nodded but remained quiet. He is clearly not one for speaking.

"So since you're partners now, why don't you introduce yourselves?" Nayla suggested.

There was a bit of silence because I was waiting for him to speak and I assume that he was waiting for me to do so as well. I felt the redhead nudge me so I looked down at her with a confused expression before I understood what she wanted me to do.

"My name's Bothain," I said with my hand forward.

He firmly gripped my hand and responded, "Tai."

"And I'm Nayla by the way!" she added happily.

Tai gave another nod, signaling that he'd returned to his silence.

Nayla and I looked at each other, trying to figure out what to do next with the one-word goliath next to us.

"Well we should get going to find the temple!" she said with her voice as cheerful as ever.

"Yeah, we'll probably run into someone that you can partner up with on the way."

With that, the three of us charted off in search of the temple.

 **A/N: Alright so biggest note is that yes, I did not describe the headmaster. The reason is because no one knows what he/she looks like so I leave it to your imagination until Rooster Teeth reveals him/her, if they even do, that is. In addition, I did not describe my OC Professor Cramer but I will later on.**

 **Huge thanks to Heart of the Anime for her character, Nayla Stormier!**

 **Let me know what you thought of this chapter and the characters that appeared in it. I'm sure you recognized a couple. Until next time! Legacy, out!**


	3. Relics

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry that it's taking so long for these chapters to come out but on the bright side, this chapter is a little longer than the last one! There was more that I wanted to include in this chapter but felt that you guys deserved a chapter while I'm on Spring Break and there are other matters I need to tend to so I hope this is okay for now.**

 **Chapter 2: Relics**

 **~Driz~**

I'd been walking around for about half an hour and I had no idea where I was. Luckily, I hadn't run into any Grimm but I hadn't seen anyone else yet either so that was a bit of a problem. What if I only got further away from the temple?! Crap! This is really, really bad!

When I took my next step, my boots sank into some mud, causing me to trip over a tree root. I lifted my head from the damp dirt and let out a frustrated groan. This is absolutely fantastic! I have no idea where I am and no way of finding out where to go! What am I going to do?!

Suddenly, I hear rustling nearby so I looked around to see who or what was there. I didn't see anything but I kept searching and even placed my hand on Riptide in case I had to fight. I stand absolutely still and slow my breathing so I can hear my surroundings better. Everything was completely silent for a small moment until a bird cawed and darted out of a tree, making me flinch slightly.

Stupid bird. Making me worry for nothing. Or at least, that's what I thought before a Malligator shot up from a nearby pond and snapped its jaws closed around the helpless animal. Now _that_ was something to worry about. But it was just one so I could easily handle it.

"Hey scale breath!" I taunt. "Now that your belly's full, you have no regrets, right? Because you're toast!" I charge him with Riptide gripped firmly in my right hand.

I got the Grimm's attention because it rushes me too with the intent of eating me just like that bird. Its powerful jaws open wide but I slide underneath and slice its stomach with my cutlass. It howls in pain so I end its misery by jamming the sword in its neck. The reptilian monster drops and I take my sword back from it, swinging off the mud and whatever dark material those things were made of.

Well that was no sweat, right? But strangely, I find a long vine where the Malligator used to be and it was tied into a circle almost like a…collar. Why would it be tied like that? Was the Grimm trying to get some swag or something? That doesn't make any sense.

Sadly, I couldn't dwell on it too much because of the other two Malligators creeping out of their pond. I think they're mad about me cutting up their buddy but forget that the same could happen to them. Guess I'll just have to remind them.

They jumped at me but I cleanly dodged the attack and opened the glass pendant that contained my dust and used it to create a whip out of the water. I snapped the whip at one of their feet and pulled on it but the beast barely budged. These things were heavier than they looked.

The other Malligator came at me so I had to move out of the way and gain some distance to think of a new plan. As I continued dodging their attacks, an idea came to me but it would take some real concentration to make something as intricate as what I had planned. I find two trees with a bit of space between them and choose that as the location for my scheme.

With the Grimm still trying to rip my head off, I lead them to the trees where I use my dust to create a square-like net with a hook at each corner to latch onto the branches and roots. The Malligator in front falls into my trap and lands right in front of me. Incapable of moving, I deliver the finishing blow but lean onto my blade, exhausted from exerting myself so much on that net. That doesn't stop the second Malligator from charging towards me which was really bad because I still hadn't caught my breath.

I use the little energy I had left to throw myself out of the way and after hearing something that resembled dart shots, barely managed to escape the monster from falling right on top of me. Now _that_ was weird because I'd barely done anything to that one. So how did it die? I noticed shuriken sticking out of its back and there had to have been at least ten – some of them were really stuck in there.

I turn my head in the direction that the Malligators came from and found a young boy around my age but noticeably shorter than me. I could see his uncombed platinum blonde hair that he kept underneath his hood. His mouth was covered by the navy mask coming from the cowl on his shirt but I could still see that his skin was really pale and that his eyes were dark green. He wore a two-toned long-sleeve shirt. The chest area was dark gray but the arms, collar, and hood were navy blue. He seemed to like dark colors because his pants were dark blue and his shoes were black. The only light color on his person were the beige pouches strapped to his back.

The boy looks directly at me but he doesn't say anything so we were both quiet until I chuckled and said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome" he responded. "You seemed to need help."

"Yeah, I really did. That thing would've ripped me to shreds if you hadn't stepped in." I lift myself off the ground and walk towards him. I staggered a little, causing him to put his hands forward but I managed to get my footing. "I'm alright. It's just that making really detailed things out of water kind of takes it out of me, you know?" He cocked his head confusedly so I explained, "Oh! That's my semblance. I can transform the shape of any water that I touch into a form I want it to take and I can make it tangible."

"That makes sense. I saw the first Malligator trip over something but I didn't see what."

"Yeah. So that's a cool weapon," I said, pointing to the gun-blade in his hand. "Why didn't you just shoot it, though? You know, instead of throwing shuriken at it."

"Tsukuyomi doesn't shoot bullets," he explained. "It shoots small shuriken." He popped open the barrel and wouldn't ya' know? It actually did use shuriken as ammo!

"You just made everything about being a ninja ten times better!"

He was taken aback slightly and aimed his gaze downwards while scratching the back of his neck.

"It-it's really not all that impressive."

"Are you kidding? You could've just made a gun-blade but no! You made a gun-blade that shoots shuriken! You my good sir, are an innovator!"

His dark green eyes snapped up towards me and his face showed disbelief. His lips curved into a small smile as he struggled to say, "Th-thanks."

"No problem, buddy! So um, I guess we're partners now, right?"

He nodded, "Yes. I haven't met anyone else yet so I do believe we are."

I smile and put my hand forward, "Great! Well my name's Driz. What's yours?"

"It's Yin…"

I place a hand on his shoulder and cheer, "Well, Yin, we're going to be the best partners ever! So do you know how to get to the temple by any chance?"

"A-are you lost?"

I laugh guiltily, "Yeah…"

"Well I don't think that it should be too far from here. The helicopter dropped me off in the northeast so I'm just moving southwest."

"Well let's get going then!" I aim Riptide in the direction that he pointed to and yell, "Onward!"

 **~Tai~**

Our small group walked through the marsh for some time but I maintained my silence so Bothain and Nayla participated in the majority of the conversation. Towards the beginning, they tried asking me questions to further familiarize themselves with me but bearing knowledge of my past is not their burden. I refuse to anchor them with it – especially the girl. She holds such untampered innocence just like…her. That's why I couldn't be her teammate, lest she gets too close to me.

When we reached a small plateau I climbed first to scout ahead without verbally volunteering or giving the others a chance to protest. I scanned the area at the top and looked back down at my companions, simply offering them a nod. This dark-skinned boy seemed to be quite sharp so further communication was not needed.

"Looks like it's safe," he told Nayla. "Ladies first."

Her lips curved into that pure smile of hers and she began climbing the small wall of dirt and grime, without any hint of hesitation. It appears as though she does not mind getting dirty. When she neared the top, I reached my hand out and again, she offered me her smile. But why? I do not deserve it. She is too nice…probably for her own good.

When Bothain nears the top, I extend my hand again and received a different reaction. Instead of immediately taking it like Nayla, he looked at it first, analyzing it like he seems to have done with absolutely everything thus far. He quickly takes it, though, and I pull him up.

As we continued our trek, Nayla asked Bothain, "Are you sure it's this way?"

He looked down at her with his burning orange eyes and nodded, "It's definitely in this general direction. We might miss it if we keep walking in a straight line, though. Maybe we should fan out and meet back here in ten minutes."

"Okay! I'll go this way!"

Bothain looked at me then back at Nayla and suggested, "Maybe it'd be best if you go with Tai in case there are Grimm nearby."

She placed her hands on her hips and, with playful sass, replied, "I can take care of myself, thank you."

The dark boy crossed his arms and smirked, "Really, now? Care to explain what happened back there with the Malligators?"

"I, um…" her minty eyes fell and slowly rose back to meet orange spheres. "They surprised me from behind so I tripped and hit my head."

"Well that explains the bump," he said.

She balled her hands into fists and brought them towards her chest.

"But I can protect myself! Really, I can!"

Not wanting to hurt her feelings, Bothain caved and allowed her to go by herself.

Her lips curved back into a smile, "I'll see you boys in ten minutes!" She plucked one of the small black rectangles from her belt and transformed it into a sword which she used to mark some of the trees. "This way we'll know which spot it is." After that, she took off running.

With just us two, I turned my head to Bothain who seemed rather uncomfortable now that Nayla was gone. He should because of the man who he had the misfortune of receiving as a partner.

"So…I'll check this way, okay?" He waited for a response but was already walking backwards in the direction that he had his thumb pointed in.

I nodded and turned to search in a different direction. In those ten minutes of searching, I found nothing so I walked back, following the claw marks I left on trees to ensure my return.

As I passed through a rather dark part of the swamplands (which did not matter to me because of my Faunus heritage), I heard sounds coming from the trees so I stayed in place and took a look around to find an armored boot hidden behind a veil of leaves. My tiger ears twitched at the sound of mechanical parts being shifted and locked into place.

A crimson red spear with a sterling silver blade flew from the trees towards me so I kicked myself backwards to dodge the assault. I could feel the adrenaline beginning to pump through my veins from knowing that I would soon be fighting a foe. My head snapped up to the trees where I assumed the spear came from and I found a figure dropping down to retrieve its weapon.

Olive-toned fingers wrap around the ruby handle and rip the muddy blade out from the soft ground beneath us. Looking at how the wavy dark brown hair was pulled over the figure's shoulder and the overall body shape underneath the black form-fitting pants, vest, and blazer, I identified it as female. The silver plates on the upper arms and shoulders of her blazer as well as her combat boots justified her outfit's suitability in battle.

She lifted her head and stared at me with intense golden eyes, filled with the desire to hunt and conquer. What could have come over her to attack a fellow student? Perhaps she can see me for what I really am.

I am not left with much time to think as she continues her attack by charging me with her spear in hand and thrusting it forward with all her might. She's very quick – enough that I knew that trying to dodge would be useless. Instead, I rooted myself firmly into the soil and with my leathered hands, took hold of her weapon before it could pierce my heart.

At this distance, I could tell that I towered over her like most I do most people but she was rather tall for a girl, standing at about five feet and nine inches.

The second time I looked into her eyes and I saw slight surprise, which quickly transformed into focus as she released her spear, backed away, and kicked it into me. The blade radiated a golden light and some sort of seal in the image of a star inside a crescent moon appeared above my chest where it connected. My aura prevented it from being driven right through me, but that was not her intention.

Her right hand begins to glow yellow as well and I suddenly feel myself being pulled forward. Immobilized by surprise, I can only watch as she flips over my head and soon I feel the bottom of her boots, which I learn are steel-toed, dig into my back. I was forced onto one knee but was still able to stand back up. I turn around to see that she already has her spear in hand but she was just standing there with the weapon held at her side.

She looks at me quizzically and asks, "No fur? You're…not a…Beowolf. Are you?"

I leave my battle stance to stand up straight and shake my head. Her eyes widen and guilt starts to set in. By this time, the symbol on my chest had faded away.

She bows and apologizes, "I'm incredibly sorry. I couldn't see too well in this poor lighting and thought that you were a creature of Grimm because of your mask." The girl collapses her weapon, shortening the handle for easy storage on the holster strapped to her lower back. "Wait, but why didn't you say anything?"

I turn my back to her and walk the other way, while saying, "Your original assumption was correct. I am a monster."

"What do you mean?" I don't stop to answer but I do halt when she says, "So…we're partners now, correct?"

"No. I already have a partner. We separated to search for the temple. However…there is a girl traveling with us who still does not have a partner."

"Do you mind if I follow you back to your group?"

"If you choose." I left it at that and began walking back the way I came with this girl following behind me.

Before we could even reach the rendezvous point, Bothain and Nayla approached us. I assume that they were worried when I did not return ten minutes after we separated and came to search for me.

"Tai," Bothain began. "Is everything okay?"

I nod.

"Who's this?" Nayla asked.

I remain quiet.

"I'm Yule," the girl introduced herself. "He's late to meet with you because of me."

"Why? What happened?" my partner asks.

Yule gripped her bicep firmly and her gaze faltered slightly as she escaped, "I…I attacked him mistaking him for Grimm."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Nayla scolded playfully. "It's that mask of yours. Maybe you could show us your face?" Her eyes were filled with hope and the gentle smile on her lips showed sincere interest and perhaps concern.

This would disappoint her but I shook my head and changed the topic, "Did either of you find the temple?"

Bothain answered, "Nayla did. It's just a bit further in that direction."

I walk past them in the direction that he pointed in and the others followed behind.

 **~Yin~**

"Do you think this is it?" Driz asked as we approached the ruins of a large grey temple sitting timelessly in a wide clearing. There were no other students nearby so I could understand why he asked that question.

I nod and respond, "Yeah. The relics must be inside."

We begin walking up the stairs to the summit but as we near the top, a group of four students exits the temple – the green-haired girl from my helicopter was among them. Each of them held what appeared to be a playing card based on the black and red that I could see.

As they descended the rotting stairs, the tomboy waved to me and stopped right in front of us.

She held her card up and said, "You better hurry because they're going pretty fast."

From up close, I could see that she held the Queen-of-Diamonds but I had no clue as to what she was talking about.

"What's going pretty fast?" Driz asked.

A black-haired boy draped in yellow robes stepped forward and answered, "The relics. There aren't that many left."

"There seems to be less relics than students," the dark-skinned girl said from the back of the group. Her face was solid as steel and her olive eyes peered through us with unwavering force.

The robed boy continued, "There were like – I don't know – eight? Ten helicopters? And there are only twenty relics. That means about half of the new students don't get a relic."

"It's very suspicious that they would set things up this way."

"Maybe it's all about who gets here first," Driz suggested. "And in that case, we should get going. Come on, Yin, we're burning daylight!"

He tugged at me by the cowl of my shirt, literally dragging me up broken and tattered steps. I watched, slightly embarrassed, as the other students, with the exception of the dark-skinned woman – chuckled and snickered. When we reached the top, Driz let go of me so I could adjust my back from the rough journey up.

"I'm capable of walking," I informed him as I dusted my gi.

My comment fell on deaf ears because the hazel-haired boy continued through the torch-lit corridor, encapsulated by the ancient atmosphere. It was dark inside but the flickering flames revealed enough of the tattered brick walls for us to surmise that this temple was incredibly old and worn down by time and the elements. There were even withering vines creeping through the dark crevices, most likely travelling throughout the entire structure.

I followed Driz down the corridor to where we were met with another set of stairs, this time going downward in a spiral along the wall of this inner chamber. Looking over at my partner, I say, "I'm fine walking, thank you."

He cackled and followed me down until we reached the base of the stairs. The light sources scattered throughout the chamber were far-spaced from one another making it difficult, and even dangerous, to descend the dark steps. At the bottom was another torch-lit passageway that seemed to extend for miles underground. We followed this corridor until the deep shadows turned into a brilliant exit, which we found to be the circular room with three other paths leading out of it – one was directly across from and the other two perpendicular to us.

Just like the other students said, there were only twenty total relics. At least, that's how many pedestals there were circulating the room. Sixteen lined the walls with breaks between them for the entrances and four stood at the center of the room. The four in the center had already been taken and so had the four to our direct left and in the far right-most sector. Examining the remaining two sets of relics, we found two Jokers and four Tens. My eyes narrowed, finding it odd that the headmaster chose to include a full set of Tens with the Aces, Kings, Queens, and Jokers. Well, that's what I assumed to be the completed collection of relics.

"So which ones should we get?"

I turned to Driz and said, "I think it is best to get the remaining Jokers. We don't know if a group of four is coming next and I would not want to separate them."

He nodded and we both walked over to the pair of relics on the other side of the room. Suddenly, we felt soft rumbling followed by small amounts of dirt and rubble falling from above. The shaking stopped so Driz and I looked at each other with quizzical expressions.

The blue-eyed boy flashed me a grin and joked, "Sorry about that. I skipped breakfast."

A chuckle escaped my lips as I just could not prevent it nor did I want to, for that matter. Driz took pride in that small accomplishment as evident by the wide grin on his face. It disappeared when the trembling returned, though, and it was much more violent this time around.

I aim my gaze to one of the entrances that Driz and I did not enter from, which was where I deduced that the tremors came from. Someone yelled from the corridor, "Run away!"

Seconds after, four teenage boys ran into the room followed by two girls. Two more boys flanked the group but they seemed to be fending something off. The dark-skinned boy with dark curls shot arrows at the darkness while the other dug the claws on his gauntlets into the ceiling to form a barrier with the debris. A blonde Faunus boy, who stood at the front of the group shouted, "Get all of the relics! We need to get out of here!"

Driz and I exchanged a look and turned our attention back to them. My partner asked, "Why? What's wrong?"

We could hear stone breaking and falling apart but the others did not waste any time in grabbing the remaining six relics and running in the direction opposite of where they came from. I peered deeper into the darkness and found a swarm of large Grimm struggling over each other to get to us.

 **~Bothain~**

My group found a large tower standing in a clearing among the trees however we were told to look for ruins. I raised the point to the others so we fanned out for several minutes and returned to find that there was nothing else in the vicinity.

When we reconvened, Nayla approached us with a group of four boys, each with a different color hair. There was one with his hair dyed bright blue who stood right beside her, chatting her up.

"Bothain, Tai, Yule!" she said while wearing a warm smile. "This is my friend, Neptune! We met on the helicopter ride here."

He smiled at us and snapped his fingers into a hand sign – his pointer finger aimed at us and his thumb up.

"Dudes, dudette. Nice to meet you all."

Yule and I approached him to shake his hand but Tai restrained himself, waiting for these newcomers to come to him. A little egotistical, if you ask me, but Neptune and his team were not bothered in the slightest.

The other three introduced themselves as Sun, Sage, and Scarlet. The alliteration was not beyond me. Sun was a blonde Faunus with a golden yellow tail poking from the back of his tattered blue jeans. He seemed quite proud of his physique, enough to boast his bronze six-pack by leaving his white collared shirt unbuttoned.

The tallest of the group, Sage, had dark skin, stylized with strange tattoos on his neck and right arm. I assumed the markings continued onto his left but could not confirm it because of the long white coat that he wore, which only covered his left arm. His right arm instead sported a series of brown leather straps, leading up to a golden shoulder piece. Like Sun, he too left his chest exposed, revealing a pair of wing-like markings – one wing on each pectoral.

Scarlet was the shortest and scrawniest of the four with his burning red hair combed over his right eye and a complete undercut. I could see several red markings around his left eye but was unsure of their purpose or meaning. His outfit consisted of a red cape to match his hair, a white tank top and jeans, and a pair of brown laced boots.

"So this is the place?" Sun asked.

Yule responded, "We believe so. Shall we enter?"

"Let's inspect it first," Sage suggested.

I agreed with him. This could have easily been part of the initiation, meant to divert our attention or trap us to prevent us from reaching the relics. As a group, we gave the tower a onceover and found it safe to enter so we did. Sun made sure to grab one of the torches at the entrance and led the rest of us to a set of stairs that seemed to wrap around the center of the tower.

As he set foot on the first step, I stopped him and said, "We don't know what waits at the top. We should send scouts ahead to make sure it's clear for the others."

"Who's going to go?" he asked.

As we were about to discuss as a group, Tai made his way to the front and started walking up.

"Where are you going?" Scarlet asked.

Nayla explained to her redheaded brethren, "He's not much of a talker but that's his way of taking one for the team." It was incredible how quick she was to defend the behemoth's antisocial behavior while maintaining a cheery air about her all the while.

Sun and Yule both volunteered to go along with Tai and no one protested so they quickly pursued my partner while the rest of us waited patiently. Sage kept his arms crossed and his eyes aimed up the dark staircase and Scarlet held his hands behind his back with his gaze low. I kept to myself for the most part too. It was Neptune, who initiated Nayla in conversation.

"So how did you and your teammate meet?" he asked.

"I was actually introduced to her by Tai. Bothain and Tai saved me from some Grimm after I fell unconscious so I chose to travel with them. When we decided to split up to search for the ruins, Tai encountered Yule and brought her back to meet me."

"That's pretty cool. Sun and I basically landed in the same spot," he chuckled.

Nayla giggled in return, "Convenient!" She turned her head to Sage and Scarlet to ask, "And the two of you?"

The redhead explained, "We just found each other while walking through the marsh. Nothing too special."

Sage questioned me, "So you and the masked fellow became partners while saving Nayla?"

"That'd be correct. He seems to be better with his fists than with his words, though."

Scarlet reassured me, "Maybe he's just shy. You're bound to open up down the line."

"Maybe. I hope it's sooner rather than later or this may be a long four years ahead of me."

As we exchanged words, Sun came back down and said, "Hey guys, there's a huge hole at the top that leads underground. Yule and Tai already went down there and they said there's a tunnel that stretches on for miles."

We followed Sun up the stairs and just as he said, there was a large hole in the center of the room with protruding stones on the sides to assist in our descent. We made our way down the opening to find the entrance to an underground corridor just as Sun said. Tai and Yule waited inside and upon seeing us, began walking deeper inside. I started to as well but the ground beneath my feet shook violently and the sound of shattering rocks came from above.

"Move!" yelled Sage as he tackled myself and Neptune into the entrance way. Sun's acrobatic ability allowed him to easily escape the falling debris and fortunately, Nayla and Scarlet were already inside the tunnel.

"The heck was that?" Sun asked.

He was answered by more rumbling as the rocks in front of us and the walls around began to crumble and white claws began to dig their way through. A couple snouts peered past the debris but it wasn't until red eyes appeared that I shouted, "Run!"

Our group broke into a sprint but the barrier keeping us safe soon broke and a horde of Moles charged at us. We raced across the tunnels, fleeing for our lives but I would occasionally drop some of the sand in my bottle to slow the Grimm down with my semblance. The oversized rodents were not affected much because I only dropped a bit of sand and they were being pushed by more of their kind from behind. Neptune fired electric energy blasts with his rifle while Scarlet shot at the Grimm with his pistol. I did not have enough time to make and fire arrows and the rest of our group seemed to only fight in close quarters combat with the exception of Nayla who did not have enough space to open her fans. We ran until our feet turned to jelly but we kept going, too afraid to falter. Finally Tai stopped running, which made Yule slow down a bit for the remaining boys to take the helm of the group. Once Nayla and I ran past him, Tai punched the ceiling, which caused the debris to fall and bought us a bit of time before they broke through again. Tai continued backing away and punching holes above, which was effective in slowing down the Grimm, allowing us time to rest a bit.

Knowing that he could not continue this for much longer, I practically emptied my container of earth dust onto the ground and told Tai, "We need to keep moving but this will slow them down a bit." He nodded and followed the rest of our group down the tunnel. When the Grimm broke past the rubble, I activated my semblance at full force which left the Moles at the front frozen in time. I started running again but kept my semblance on until I was too far for it to be effective and followed the others down the tunnel with the horde in pursuit. We ran for some time until a light emerged at the end of the corridor. The legs in my muscles burned to no end but this glimmer of hope was enough to push me through and reach it.

I heard Sun yell, "Run away!" and saw everyone enter a room. Tai and I stayed at the back to slow down the monsters, my teammate with the same strategy he used before and I with the small amount of arrows I could make. When I turned around, my eyes widened when I realized that we had found the relics along with two other boys who were confused as to why we were so distressed. They were about to learn the answer.

 **A/N: Dun! Dun! Dun! And cliffhanger for the win! What will happen to our heroes with this horde of Grimm quickly approaching them? Find out next time on Guardians of Remnant!**

 **Huge thanks to Inkly for Yule Hobbes!**

 **Also, don't forget to leave your thoughts and opinions in the reviews. Trust me, I read them and take your advice into consideration. As for now, Legacy, out!**


	4. Announcement

**Announcement:** Hey everyone, this isn't a new chapter, just an announcement. Now for the past few year or so, I've been constantly promising that updates would start picking up but I couldn't find the motivation to keep writing. I believed that if I said that I would start writing more, I would but I was wrong. Instead, it's come to this and to top it all off, I have been dishonest with you all. You see, one reason I stopped updating is because I made a second account by the name of Katon Dragonfly. I felt incredibly guilty for starting and abandoning new stories but I had so many ideas that I wanted to do so I hid behind another account and just like all my other stories, I've abandoned them as well. I think that my time on FF as an author is up because I can't get myself to sit down and write out ideas. I also feel like all of my writing has reached redundancy from my vocabulary to the plot lines and characters that I use. For these reasons, I will not be continuing to write on either of my accounts and if I do decide to return to FF as an author, it will be under a new account name and I will mention my other accounts upon introducing myself. I feel that it would only be fair for those of you (if any) who would still be on FF and decide to read my stories. With all that said and done, Legacy, out!


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